Scope Spring 2016 - Vol. 51 No. 1

Award-winning documentary

‘A Certain Kind of Light’ exploring whole person care with Wil Alexander

Vol. 51, No. 1

SPRING 2016

Official Magazine of Loma Linda University Health

Perspectives

on whole person care

By Larry Kidder

T

here has always been something special about coming to Loma Linda for care. From the early days of Loma Linda Sanitarium to the present-day cloverleaf towers and the future adult and children’s towers, health care professionals at Loma Linda seek to treat their patients as whole individuals—fathers, mothers, grandparents, brothers, sisters, children, friends—seeking to understand them and listening to their stories as part of the process of healing.

Student nurses, physicians, and other health care professionals-in-training have watched as their mentors practiced whole person care. Graduates of the College of Medical Evangelists— now Loma Linda University—saw themselves as medical missionaries, spreading health and healing as well as the gospel.

In 1973, Wil Alexander, PhD, joined the Loma Linda University School of Religion faculty. Previously a pastor and professor in the seminary at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, Alexander came to Loma Linda with the goal of changing the way physicians and other health care givers interact with patients and their families.

In the mid-1990s, he was asked by Lyn Behrens, MBBS, then president of Loma Linda University Health, to establish the Center for Spiritual Life and Wholeness, bringing together individuals across the campuses of Loma Linda University Health to discuss and define whole person care.

More recently, Carla Gober-Park, PhD, MPH, the center’s current director, assembled an interdisciplinary group of hundreds with the goal of defining

whole person care, as well as creating a model to help teach the concept to future generations. In addition, she spearheaded efforts to film Alexander during his rounds, capturing his warm, disarming interactions with patients as he listened to their life stories. Her efforts led to the documentary, “A Certain Kind of Light,” which shares Alexander’s journey and philosophy of whole person care (see page 8).

“Whole person care is what sets Loma Linda apart,” says Richard Hart, MD, DrPH, president of Loma Linda University Health. “Our goal is to both teach and practice whole person care in such a way that we positively impact our world.”

On the south campus mall, in the shadow of the cloverleaf towers, a bronze sculpture depicts a contemporary version of the parable of the Good Samaritan, found in Luke 10:30.

Upon finishing the parable, Jesus commanded His listeners to follow the example of the Good Samaritan and “go and do likewise.” His command is still relevant today as alumni continue to impact the world through whole person care.

Loma Linda University Health

TABLE OF CONTENTS Campus news 2 | Campus transformation is well underway 4 | Terror in San Bernardino 6 | Children’s Hospital receives new head coach 7 | Bailey among 50 ‘stars’ honored by Flag for Hope

Wholeness 8 | ‘A Certain Kind of Light’ documentary premieres

4

10 | Prayer notes inspire with winning images 11 | Spiritual plan will help steer Loma Linda University Health

Clinical care 12 | Behavioral Medicine Center celebrates 25 years 14 | Liver recipients at Transplantation Institute live longer 14 | New affiliation with Southern Mono Healthcare District 15 | Future rabbi shares story at 25th anniversary of Proton Treatment and Research Center 16 | Adults with congenital heart disease now have a team looking out for them

24

Research 17 | Social work professor serves Afghan refugees 18 | DNA sequencers propel Loma Linda research into the future of medicine 19 | Research suggests dark chocolate is good for you

Education 20 | The humanities play a vital role in scientific education 21 | Academic programs continue to grow 21 | School of Allied Health Professions to celebrate 50 years

27

22 | Best practices shared during 10th International Academic Week at Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital

Outreach SCOPE is published by Loma Linda University Health, a Seventh-day Adventist organization.

Spring 2016 | Vol. 51, No. 1 Executive editor | Garrett Caldwell Editor | Larry Becker Managing editors | Heather Reifsnyder and Larry Kidder Art direction | Larry Kidder

23 | LLU students mentor teen parents 24 | Malamulo Hospital marks 100 years of healing

Alumni 26 | A first reunion: School of Behavioral Health alumni come together 27 | In memoriam: Lawrence D. Longo

Writers | Larry Becker, Courtney Haas, Larry Kidder, Susan Onuma, James Ponder, Heather Reifsnyder, and Nancy Yuen

28 | Where are LLU alumni today?

SCOPE | Office of Public Affairs 11157 Anderson Street | Loma Linda, California 92354

29 | Jane Woolley: Big Hearts for Little Hearts Desert Guild co-founder

E-MAIL | scope@llu.edu WEB | lomalindauniversityhealth.org SOCIAL MEDIA | llu.edu/social READ ONLINE | llu.edu/news/scope

30 | Anees Razzouk receives first Healing Hands gold pin

©2016. Loma Linda University Health.

All rights reserved.

Philanthropy

30 | Arthur Graham Maxwell Scholarship established 31 | Annual gala raises more than $1.3 million 31 | Heart patient Nia Imani shares holiday cheer 32 | Philanthropists recognized for support 1

CAMPUS NEWS

Construction zone

campus transformation is well underway

By Heather Reifsnyder

A

time-lapse video of the past few months at Loma Linda University Health would reveal the organization’s monumental efforts to construct a better future.

Campus transformation plans will ensure that Loma Linda continues to have the best facilities in which to carry out its sacred work of teaching and healing. Chief among these plans is a new hospital complex scheduled to open in the year 2020.

“Here at Loma Linda, we are all on a mission to save and improve lives physically, mentally and spiritually,” says Kerry Heinrich, JD, CEO of Loma Linda University Medical Center.

The new hospital will provide an even better environment for this work.

Community members will continue to find the best medical care in the Inland Empire in a state-of-the-art building designed the Loma Linda way—for whole person healing.

The facility will be no less than an

2

academic medical center for the future, as President Richard Hart, MD, DrPH, has described it—a place of not only advanced medical care, but also where tomorrow’s health care professionals will receive the best clinical training there is.

Supported by the Vision 2020 campaign, the new hospital and other forthcoming projects will keep Loma Linda University Health at the forefront of education, health care, and research for decades to come.

“As we prepare for the lofty goals of Vision 2020, we commit ourselves to value and protect the heart and soul of this place,” Hart promises.

Other goals of the Vision 2020 campaign include growing funds and endowments for research and student scholarships, and a new research building and Wholeness Institute—now in its beginnings—that will become the premier resource worldwide for practicing the art of wholeness.

The results of these endeavors will grow more and more visible and impressive as the year 2020 approaches. For now, construction in prepara-

tion for the new Medical Center is taking center stage.

After several drafts, Loma Linda University Health has finalized the design of the new hospital complex, which will feature two towers for health care—one for adults and one for children, all with private patient rooms only.

The completed building will be a landmark in the Inland Empire, but more importantly, it will be even more well known for its whole person care.

In order to reach this great day, less glamorous preparatory work is taking place. This includes several preparatory phases, the first being a new parking garage nearing completion behind the existing Children’s Hospital. When completed in early June, the six-floor garage will be the new parking place for patients and their families, and it will boast 745 spaces—an increase over current patient parking by about 35 percent.

The current patient lot—directly in front of Loma Linda University Medical Center and Children’s Hospital—is where the new medical complex will sit—a nearly one million square foot facility. Imagine how many hundreds

Loma Linda University Artist’s rendering Health

A remodeled amphitheater in Alumni Hall for Basic Sciences gets the ribbon-cutting treatment on the first day of classes in the new space. Wielding the ceremonial scissors are School of Medicine officers, from left, Roger Hadley, MD, dean; Tamara Thomas, MD, vice dean; and Alice Wongworawat, MBA, associate dean.

of construction workers it will take to build this hospital.

To accommodate them, a second new parking garage is being built across Barton Road. For the first three years, its 935 spaces will be for construction crew parking. But as the number of workers diminishes and the hospital building progresses, the garage will be transitioned into an additional parking asset to accommodate even more employees, guests, and patients.

When the new medical center opens, the current facility will sit between it and the patient parking structure now under construction. Patients will reach the new medical complex through a grand hallway now under construction that traverses a corridor running between the existing Medical Center and Children’s Hospital. According to Eric Schilt, assistant vice president for construction, LLU Medical Center, the hallway will be an elegant entrance befitting the dignified care patients and guests will receive in the new complex.

With a new and bigger hospital complex on the way, increasing electrical capacity on campus is vital. The campus power plant is being significantly upgraded and retrofitted, adding new

boilers, expanding the substation, and building a new chiller plant.

The increased utility capacity will also support the new research building planned for construction in a few years.

While all this major work takes place, Loma Linda University Health also quietly continues to keep existing parts of the campus up to date.

This has included revamping the amphitheater classroom in the Alumni Hall for Basic Sciences. The room is now enhanced with the latest technology to benefit student learning. It includes five digital screens for lectures, a power outlet and two USB ports at each seat, and swivel seating to allow students to face each other for discussion and collaboration. All of this is built with the understanding that today’s students learn differently than previous generations, and, as knowledge advances each day, they are expected to keep pace, according to Roger Hadley, MD, dean of the School of Medicine.

Meanwhile, the lower level of Nichol Hall, which is primarily used by the School of Allied Health Professions, is receiving the same careful treatment.

Over the past few months, the student lounge has been remodeled, creating an ideal atmosphere for studying, group work and socialization.

Additionally, classrooms in the north wing have been overhauled and, in some cases, enlarged to meet the needs of students and their professors.

These are some of the projects that are taking place across campus. Many more have recently been completed or will soon take place.

“We are continually improving the campus to provide the best environment possible for student learning and patient healing,” says Ken Breyer, assistant vice president for construction, Loma Linda University Health.

To learn more about Vision 2020: The Campaign for a Whole Tomorrow, visit lluhvision2020.org.

Facing page: The design for the new hospital complex has been finalized. This is a recent architectural drawing.

Right: The remodeled lower rotunda in Nichol Hall is an ideal setting for students of the School of Allied Health Professions to study, work in groups, and socialize.

SCOPE | Spring 2016

3

CAMPUS NEWS

Terror in San Bernardino

Loma Linda University Health responds to national tragedy

By Larry Kidder and Susan Onuma

W

ednesday, December 2, began as a normal work day in the midst of the holidays.

Decorations were everywhere. Many businesses and organizations throughout the Inland Empire region, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, had planned Christmas get-togethers, and some were happening that very morning—including one at the Inland Regional Center.

A large group of public health inspectors from the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health had rented a room at the center, a little more than two miles north of Loma Linda University Health. They planned to follow an in-service event with their annual Christmas party.

The Inland Regional Center houses a number of social services and has close ties—both on professional and personal levels—to Loma Linda University Health.

Redlands couple Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik dropped their six-month-old daughter off at her grandmother’s, with the excuse that they needed to meet a doctor’s appointment.

At 11:00 a.m. Pacific time, the couple entered the Inland Regional Center, dressed in black military fatigues and

4

carrying assault rifles, and opened fire on Syed Farook’s friends and colleagues.

He had been at the meeting earlier in the morning. The group of county inspectors was on a break between the in-service meeting and the party.

Later it was suggested that Farook, a U.S.-born Pakistani, had an ongoing dispute with a fellow inspector who was Jewish. He and his wife, perhaps on the way to perpetrate a larger terror attack elsewhere—evidenced by the bomb factory discovered in their garage—may have decided to exact personal revenge at the last minute. But it was all speculation.

As word began to spread about the unfolding event, San Bernardino police closed down the streets and neighborhoods near the scene.

Loma Linda University Medical Center, the only Level I trauma center in a four-county region east of Los Angeles, prepared for mass casualties.

Tents were quickly erected in the emergency department parking lot on the west side. This was no drill, but a great deal of forethought and preparation led to an immediate response.

The triage area in the parking lot was prepared to handle as many as 50 casualties at a time.

Trauma teams were assembled and

waited for the inevitable stream of ambulances that should arrive any minute.

Just five patients arrived at the Medical Center, several critically injured.

Word came from the scene of the shooting that the rest of the victims were deceased or had been transported to other area hospitals.

The last of the five patients remained at Loma Linda University Medical Center for an extended rehabilitation, but was eventually able to go home.

On the day of the shooting and over the next couple of days, leaders at Loma Linda University Health received messages of understanding and encouragement from other leaders who had dealt with similar tragedies.

The emergency department staff received pizza deliveries which were paid for by sympathetic and concerned fellow emergency room professionals at other hospitals in other states.

On Saturday, January 30, 2016, the Los Angeles Times published a letter co-written by Loma Linda University Health President Richard Hart, MD, DrPH, and Kerry Heinrich, JD, chief executive of Loma Linda University Medical Center, thanking the local communities and others around the country for an outpouring of support:

Loma Linda University Health

Timeline for Wednesday, December 2, 2015 11:00 a.m.

Automatic weapon fire erupts at Inland Regional Center. San Bernardino Police Department receives 9-1-1 call.

11:04 a.m.

San Bernardino police arrive at the scene with weapons drawn. Those in nearby offices wonder if this is just a drill.

11:14 a.m.

San Bernardino Fire Department arrives, amid reports of 20 victims having been shot.

11:40 a.m.

First shooting victim arrives at Loma Linda University Medical Center emergency department. Four more are transported over the next 45 minutes.

12:25 p.m.

LLUMC emergency department receives word that no more victims will arrive; the remaining victims are deceased. President Barack Obama is first briefed on the shooting.

1:05 p.m.

San Bernardino police confirm multiple casualties and some fatalities.

1:28 p.m.

Police ask residents to stay clear of the area surrounding Inland Regional Center.

1:55 p.m.

San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan announces 14 dead and 14 injured.

3:20 p.m.

Based on a tip, police head to a home in Redlands. A black SUV, identified after the shooting, is spotted and a high-speed pursuit ensues. The two assailants ultimately die in a violent shootout with police.

5:30 p.m.

Police search the Redlands home and find a virtual bomb factory. The couple is identified by police.

8:15 p.m.

President Barack Obama suggests the shooting is work-related violence.

SCOPE | Spring 2016 2016

Above: Officer John Marshall, right, director of security at Loma Linda University Health, updates leaders of the organization on the latest information from law enforcement and other agencies. Listening in are, from left, Kerry Heinrich, JD, CEO of Loma Linda University Medical Center; Richard Hart, MD, DrPH, president of Loma Linda University Health; Chris Johnston, JD (in back), associate general counsel; Kathleen Clem, MD, chair of emergency medicine; Trevor Wright, MHA, senior vice president of adult hospital services (now COO); Michael Kiemeney, MD, emergency medicine residency program director; and Terry Hansen, MPH, COO (now retired). Facing page: members of local, national and international media outlets camped out in front of the LLUMC emergency department awaiting any word on the victims brought to Loma Linda.

To the LA Times editor: The staff at Loma Linda University Health would like to express its heartfelt thanks for the incredible outpouring of support after last month’s shooting. We worked fervently to save the lives of those who were taken to our facility in the aftermath of this horrific event, and our hearts cried for those we could not help.

Hospitals including Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, and UC Irvine Medical Center offered to send staff. On the day of the tragedy, local businesses sent us food and water. Pizza deliveries also arrived from anonymous emergency nurses from Boston and Texas.

Over the past several weeks, hospital staff and administration have received numerous cards and letters from members of the local community and communities across the country. Just a couple of weeks ago our public relations office received a gift basket from their counterparts at Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg, Oregon, which recently dealt with a mass shooting at a nearby community college. The Medical Center of Aurora in Colorado sent a large banner with more than 100 staff signatures and a note of encouragement from Dan Miller, its president and chief executive.

This banner was similar to the one they received in the days following the Aurora

theater shooting, sent to them by the hospital that received victims from the mass shooting at Virginia Tech.

We received letters of support from children at local schools, including Rialto Middle School, Loma Linda Academy, and Miss Park’s second grade class. The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors also recognized our staff, creating a non-public gathering of county employees, families, and invited guests, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Each gesture of support came without fanfare. There was no expectation of being publicly acknowledged. No one called a press conference. However, we were so moved by these quiet acts of fraternity and compassion that we wanted to respond to them in the most public way possible.

It will be our responsibility to encourage other medical communities who must deal with what we hope no one will have to experience. But for now, we thank those who extended their hearts and prayers to us and to the San Bernardino community during this time of tremendous loss.

Richard Hart, president of Loma Linda University Health Kerry Heinrich, chief executive of Loma Linda University Medical Center 5

CAMPUS NEWS

Children’s Hospital receives new head coach

By Larry Kidder

S

cott Perryman, MBA, has a burden for kids. In addition to raising three boys of his own, he organized baseball leagues and tournaments to help Seventh-day Adventist young people have an opportunity to play high-caliber baseball without the Sabbath concern of Friday night and Saturday games. He also created a youth sports outreach ministry.

And now he is taking on a leadership role at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital. Perryman now serves as chief executive of Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital.

In more recent years, Perryman has brought his financial and administrative expertise to help children who are facing health issues. Before coming to Loma

Linda University Children’s Hospital as senior vice president and administrator as of September 30, 2015, he served as senior vice president of operations and strategic planning at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, located in Frisco, a northern suburb of Dallas.

“Once you start working for children, there’s no going back,” Perryman shares.

“Our children are the most vulnerable members of our society, and I receive such a blessing knowing that I’m helping them grow into healthy adults—in spite of health setbacks.”

Perryman is joining Children’s Hospital during its transition on many levels. Not only is the organization part of a major building project, but it faces challenges in the process of establishing a unique identity.

“We wanted separate licensure so that we could join the consortium of freestanding children’s hospitals in California,” Perryman explains. “There are also reimbursement and funding benefits that didn’t apply when we were part of the adult hospital.”

But the process of becoming a freestanding children’s hospital has had its own challenges. Personnel, financing, and even shared space had taken years to meld into a single entity with LLU Medical Center; and now they’ve been separated and duplicated in a very short timespan.

While going to press, confirmation has been received that the separate identity is now well-established.

Over the past several months, Perryman has not only been introduced to his new role but has quickly taken on major decision-making.

“With challenge comes opportunity,” he smiles. “Our challenges have helped Above left: Scott Perryman illustrates his philosophy for moving Children’s Hospital ahead. Left: The Perrymans gather for a family portrait among the aspens in Colorado: from left, Hunter, Scott, Angie, Mason, and Blake.

6

Scott Perryman, MBA, new chief executive of Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital, plans to help the Children’s Hospital team “hit it out of the park” when it comes to meeting the health care needs of children in the Inland Empire and beyond.

us become a close-knit leadership team, and I firmly believe we are now better prepared than ever for the future.”

A native Texan, Perryman has spent most of his career in the Lone Star State, aside from four years as director of finance for Duke University Health System in Durham, North Carolina.

He and his wife, Angie, have three boys: Blake just graduated from Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tennessee, and has applied to several physical therapy programs; Hunter is a college junior and is looking at universities in Southern California; and Mason is a sophomore at Loma Linda Academy.

Perryman enjoys travel, playing golf, following sports, fine arts and music, and coaching baseball. Apparently he has passed on his love for baseball to his son, Blake, who is helping to coach the Continued next page

Loma Linda University Health

CAMPUS NEWS

Bailey among 50 ‘stars’ honored

on Flag for Hope for contributing to strength and well-being of America

By Susan Onuma and Larry Kidder

T

he Flag for Hope project team set off on a nationwide journey from the Indianapolis 500 Motor

Speedway on May 23, 2015.

On February 1, 2016, the flag came to Loma Linda University Health, where infant heart transplant pioneer Leonard Bailey, MD, added his star. He joins 50 well-known individuals in the U.S. The Flag for Hope project was conceived by U.S. Army veteran Marcos Antonio as a way to honor his fellow soldiers, as well as the teachers, police, firefighters, physicians, and nurses whose actions save and change lives. Antonio also hoped to “help promote unity and peace among all Americans.”

“Our goal,” according to the Flag for Hope website, “is to collect approximately 3,000 to 4,000 American hand

and finger impressions on a giant canvas to create the United States of America national flag.”

Once the flag is completed, it will be on display in one of the Smithsonian Institute’s museums in Washington, DC. Bailey joins an elite group who contributed a star, including television and movie actor Tom Selleck, tennis star Billie Jean King, retired Gen. Colin Powell, Olympic gymnasts and goldmedal-winning couple Bart Conner and Nadia Comaneci, retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, and U.S. Senator John McCain from Arizona.

Left: Infant heart transplantation pioneer Leonard Bailey, MD, paints his star on the Flag for Hope. Above: Bailey, center, is joined by, from left, Austin Perkypile, MBA, executive director, Loma Linda University International Heart Institute; Sherry Nolfe, RN, executive director of patient care, Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital; Helen Staples-Evans, DNP, chief nursing officer, LLUCH; and Richard Chinnock, MD, chief medical officer, LLUCH.

Children’s Hospital receives new head coach …

Continued from previous page

baseball team at Loma Linda Academy.

As Perryman coaches the Children’s Hospital team members, he has a number of goals to achieve with them. “We need to firmly establish our identity as the leading provider of children’s health care in our region,” he says, “delivering SCOPE | Spring 2016

specialized children’s services—such as maternal fetal medicine, neonatal intensive care, and a host of other services not found elsewhere—to a broader area.”

Perryman is a member of the California Children’s Hospital Association Board, where he sits across the table from many of Loma

Linda’s sister hospitals.

“But to compete in today’s health care environment, we need to provide the best comprehensive health care for our children so that their parents and caregivers will naturally send them here,” he says. “There must be something special about coming to Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital that they won’t find anywhere else.”

7

WHOLENESS

‘A Certain Kind of Light’ documentary follows Wil Alexander on rounds as he shares whole person care

By Larry Kidder

C

lose to 100 people sit in a screening room somewhere in downtown London. The projector flickers on the giant screen.

A man in his mid-90s, white hair, petite goatee, cane in hand, visits various hospital patients—each with a story—accompanied by a complement of medical students, residents, attending physicians, and chaplains.

The documentary, “A Certain Kind of Light,” is making the rounds at a number of U.S. and international film festivals, winning awards along the way. The documentary tells the history of whole person care through the life of Wil Alexander, PhD, MTh, founding director of Loma Linda University’s Center for Spiritual Life and Wholeness.

Alexander introduced the idea of whole person care on the campus of Loma Linda University Health more than 40 years ago.

He calls his patient interactions “love rounds” and his patients his “teachers.”

Alexander’s sole purpose is to connect with the person in front of him and “invite” the story—ask the right questions in the right way.

8

Harvey Elder, MD, clinical professor of medicine and professor of public health, remembers the day Alexander arrived on campus. “It was mid-summer of 1973,” Elder recalls. The two were kindred spirits and, without sharing their intentions, began testing whole person care with patients at the Medical Center.

Their first patient, a 37-year-old woman, had severe asthma. They struck a conversation. Something—or Someone—inspired Elder to ask the woman, “Why do you think you have asthma?” Her immediate response: “I had an abortion when I was 19.”

The physician and minister listened as she shared her story. Before their visit was over, her labored wheezing subsided. A few days later, she went home asthma-free. “We knew we were on to something,” Alexander remembers.

Reactions to their methods were mixed. Some questioned the presence of a pastor during patient rounds. Others wondered whether physicians should be asking questions not related to diagnosis and treatment.

But Alexander persisted. In the years since, many Loma Linda University Health leaders have embraced his vision for whole person care. B. Lyn Behrens,

MBBS, who completed her pediatric residency at Loma Linda, saw the value and innovation of his ideas long before most.

Behrens became dean of the School of Medicine, followed by her appointment as president of Loma Linda University and then Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center—now Loma Linda University Health.

During Behrens’ tenure, Alexander was asked to establish the LLU Center for Spiritual Life and Wholeness, a place where spiritual leaders on campus could work closely with health care and educational leaders to identify principles of whole person care. Alexander continues as the center’s founding director.

“As we talked with students and residents who have accompanied Wil on rounds,” says Carla Gober-Park, PhD, MPH, current director of the Center for Spiritual Life and Wholeness, “many of them said they didn’t feel they could interact with patients the way he does.”

Alexander has an easygoing and friendly bedside manner that is disarming, allowing him to ask probing questions.

Gober-Park adds, “We needed a method for teaching whole person care that would be inspiring.”

Student responses motivated Gober-

Loma Linda University Health

Park to gather a multidisciplinary group, tasked with identifying and articulating the principles that Alexander naturally applied in relating to patient/teachers.

This group helped define wholeness for the organization: “Loved by God, growing in health, living with purpose in the community.”

The group also developed a model of whole person care that could be taught and shared. Gober-Park asked the School of Medicine classes of 2014 and 2015 to serve as focus groups. They, along with hundreds of others throughout the organization, helped with the development of the CLEAR whole person care model (see graphic below).

“The CLEAR model allows us to teach whole person care,” Gober-Park explains, “by providing a practical way to guide conversations with patients and listen to their stories.”

“Whole person care is what sets Loma Linda apart,” points out Richard

Hart, MD, DrPH, president of Loma Linda University Health. “Wil has hit on fundamental principles that have been practiced in various forms for our entire 110-year history.”

In the roles of both executive producer and producer, Gober-Park led out in the creation of the documentary. “Our filmmaker, Brandon Vedder, understood that while the film is a documentary on Wil, it is really about the importance of the story—everyone’s story.”

Garrett Caldwell, DMin, executive director of public affairs, comments, “Not often enough do we have the privilege of meeting a person who can see that we are more than what appears at the surface. Wil Alexander is clearly a person like this.” Caldwell elaborates, “Through the film ‘A Certain Kind of Light,’ we are exposed to a heart that transforms how we see those with whom we have healing encounters.”

Filming finished in April 2015, with

editing completed in July. The first official local screening took place January 8, 2016, at Loma Linda University Church.

At 94 years old, Alexander still makes weekly rounds. Gober-Park is committed to educating as many people as possible about the importance of listening to stories in the way that he listens to them. “Even though we have established more rounds and trained many health care professionals through them, participation is limited.” She continues, “This film will allow so many more students, residents, faculty, and the world to be with Wil as he visits patients and helps them share their stories.”

In London, the screening at the Global Health Film Festival, in its inaugural year at The Royal Academy of Medicine, comes to an end. Film credits roll and the music fades. The room is silent, the audience deep in thought. The story has been told.

To view the documentary teaser, visit religion.llu.edu/wholeness.

Far left: Wil Alexander, PhD, MTh, listens while a patient/teacher shares his story. Alexander believes that an important part of the healing process is being heard. Right: Carla Gober-Park, PhD, MPH, served as executive producer of the documentary, as well as the primary motivator. Top of page: Students observe Alexander in action with real patients.

Below: The CLEAR Whole Person Care Model was developed by a large multidisciplinary group to help practicing health care givers and those in training learn how to interact with patients in such a way that they are comfortable sharing their stories.

SCOPE | Spring 2016

9

WHOLENESS

Prayer notes used in whole person care inspire with winning images

By Nancy Yuen

T

he photographer paused to take a photo beneath a towering grove of aspens. He was “living it,” on break from his full-time job at Loma Linda University Health, experiencing two of his greatest joys—photography and exploring nature.

The image, of aspen trees in Ouray, Colorado, taken in the fall under a stunning blue sky—captures beauty, changing seasons, color, hope. It was chosen as the first-place winner in Loma Linda University Medical Center’s 2015 prayer notes photo contest.

The contest is sponsored by the Loma Linda University Medical Center’s employee spiritual care department and is open to staff, students, physicians, and volunteers. Winning images are selected for their ability to promote feelings such as peace, strength, hope, or joy.

According to Kathy McMillan, director of employee spiritual care and wholeness, winning photos and those that receive honorable mention are printed on prayer notes, which are similar to post cards. “Each card has a photo on one side and a Bible verse and inspirational quote on the back,” she says.

“The cards are available for employees to use as they provide whole person care.”

During the 13 years the contest has been held, thousands of images have been entered. “Our employees and

Second place: Lotus Satoshi Sakamoto

10

First place photo by James Ponder: “Standing beneath these giant aspens, in a pocket grove beside the Million Dollar Highway near Ouray, Colorado, was a breathtaking experience. Between the looming white trunks and black branches, clusters of electric yellow leaves punctuated turquoise skies to the cadence of a gentle autumn breeze. A sense of the numinous and the holy overwhelmed my senses and I could scarcely catch my breath.”

students have traveled all over the world, and many are wonderful photographers,” says McMillan.

She recalls memorable entries captured in New Zealand, countries throughout Europe, and in many of the states.

A set of cards for children was added about 10 years ago, featuring animals.

“There have been cards with domestic cats and a lion cub in Africa,” says McMillan. “Photographs have been taken in zoos and one year a photographer submitted a variety of photos of shelter animals.”

The cards, small gifts that staff can give to patients, have become an endearing tradition at Loma Linda. This pleases McMillan. “Everyone who works or studies here is a part of our spiritual care team. This is true of every person,”

Third place: Hummingbird Michael Woodruff

she says, “not only those who provide patient care.”

Photo contest entries are also used for special projects, including a small book of Bible verses, and for the Spirit Lifter, a brief inspirational photo and message that is emailed weekly.

“The photographers are pleased,” says McMillan. “I’m often told, ‘I’d be honored if my picture is used to encourage somebody.’”

The prayer cards can be found at nursing stations, in break rooms, and in McMillan’s office. “The beauty of the prayer cards,” she says, “is that they are available for chaplains, nurses, students, housekeepers, dispatch couriers, and others to use to provide spiritual care.

Mission-centered care is key to what we do at Loma Linda University Health, and we want to empower all of our employees to help provide it.”

Forty-three photographers entered 261 photographs in the 2015 contest.

The winners, announced in December, are as follows:  First place: “Aspens” James Ponder  Second place: “Lotus” Satoshi Sakamoto  Third place: “Hummingbird” Michael Woodruff Loma Linda University Health

Spiritual plan will help steer Loma Linda University Health

By Nancy Yuen

T

he mission of Loma Linda University Health is lived out in classrooms, in boardrooms, and in patient care areas. The influence of Loma Linda’s mission extends beyond its immediate region through outreach programs that change individuals and communities.

Such outreach is fueled by the sacred commitment at Loma Linda University Health to serve God and others.

“To fulfill its purpose, Loma Linda University Health must strive to be a cohesive organization with a spiritual SCOPE | Spring 2016

core,” says Gerald Winslow, PhD, vice president for mission and culture.

Deep spirituality transforms how we treat people, believes Richard Hart, MD, DrPH, president, Loma Linda University Health. “True spirituality comes from a secure sense that we are all children of God, objects of His personal interest,” he says.

For many years, a spiritual leadership committee has helped guide the direction of spiritual care at Loma Linda University Health. Spiritual plans have been prepared by the university and for the health care system.

WHOLENESS

“Unification that is occurring within Loma Linda University Health,” says Winslow, “is providing a new opportunity to create a more comprehensive spiritual plan for the entire organization.” In the spring of 2015, President Hart requested the creation of a singular Spiritual Plan encompassing the entire organization.

As the project moved forward, input was sought from faculty, employees, administrators, and students, who were invited to provide their thoughts and ideas in an online questionnaire.

Presentations made to many leadership groups, including the university’s annual leadership retreat, yielded additional ideas through feedback.

Kevin Penington, a student intern from the School of Public Health, was lead analyst and a contributing writer for the Spiritual Plan. “We were surprised by the level of engagement,” Penington says. “We received more than 300 responses.” From the responses, themes arose that were developed into specific initiatives.

“The Spiritual Plan highlights four strategic priorities—wholeness, experience, integration, and growth—that support Loma Linda’s mission,” says Winslow. “Our mission is what holds us together. It provides unification—a shared purpose for our nearly 15,000 employees.”

According to Winslow, the plan is a living, growing document. “Aims and initiatives supporting the four priorities are built into the plan,” he says, “which also highlights processes for achieving them, reporting progress, and revising the plan over time.”

A first draft of the Loma Linda University Health Spiritual Plan was completed in November, and the plan was approved by the Loma Linda University Health Board on December 9, 2015.

11

CLINICAL CARE

Loma Linda University Behavioral Medicine Center celebrates 25 years of healing

By Larry Kidder

F

or the past 25 years, Loma Linda University Behavioral Medicine Center (BMC) has provided a place of healing for people of all ages who suffer from various forms of mental illness. In addition to creating a caring and healing environment, BMC caregivers have sought to lessen the stigma and prejudice associated with mental illness.

Behavioral health on the campus of Loma Linda University Health traces its history back to 1962, when Loma Linda University School of Medicine first established the department of psychiatry in West Hall. Five years later, Loma Linda University Medical Center opened its 18-bed inpatient psychiatric unit.

But it wasn’t until the mid 1980s that discussions began around creating a freestanding center for mental health care. Loma Linda Manor, a nearby skilled nursing facility, was considered a possibility at one point.

In 1989, Charter Hospital, located east of the main campus on Barton Road, announced plans to close. The 89-bed facility specializing in addictions provided an opportunity for Loma Linda University Medical Center to move behavioral health services to a freestanding site and expand its scope.

The Loma Linda University Medical Center Board voted in 1990 to purchase the former Charter Hospital and convert it to the BMC. The doors officially opened in 1991.

“We’ve come a long way since 1991,”

Timeline 1962 Loma Linda University opens a department of psychiatry.

1967 Loma Linda University Medical Center opens an 18-bed psychiatric unit.

1984 Discussions begin for a free-standing center for mental health.

1988 Charter Hospital, an 89-bed addictions hospital in nearby Redlands, announces plans to close.

12 12

says Edward Field, MBA, vice president and administrator of the BMC. “We treat approximately 4,700 inpatients and receive more than 36,000 outpatient visits each year.”

Ten years later, in 2001, the concept of organizing a Behavioral Health Institute (BHI) adjacent to the BMC was approved. Land was purchased in 2004 and ground broken in 2008. Two years later, the BHI opened its doors, providing a multidisciplinary academic, research, and practice outpatient center for behavioral health.

Throughout the 25-year history, BMC leaders have implemented innovations that have helped keep Loma Linda University Health at the leading edge of behavioral health treatment.

In 2001, BMC became one of only five behavioral health centers in the nation to treat individuals whose chronic pain led them to abuse prescribed medications. In 2006, the center opened its intensive mental health outpatient program for children ages 5 to 11.

In 2008, Riverside Community Health Foundation and Unihealth combined for a $600,000 grant to help BMC develop its Shield Program, designed for adolescents who resort to self-injury.

The Shield Program relies on dialectical behavior therapy methods.

In 2010, the staff at BMC created the MEND program, using a crossdisciplinary treatment approach focused on children and family members who are coping with significant medical challenges, such as organ transplantation,

diabetes, or chemotherapy.

In 2012, the BMC responded to a need in the Murrieta and Temecula areas and opened an adult partial hospitalization program at LLU Medical Center– Murrieta. In 2014, the BMC expanded this program to include an intensive outpatient program for adolescents.

In 2016, the BMC offers a variety of inpatient and outpatient services for children, adolescents, adults, and seniors that address addictions, eating disorders, and a full range of mental health issues.

Among the newest at the BMC are the Connection and the Wisdom programs. The Connection program provides adult intensive outpatient treatment for those who are experiencing anxiety, depression, physical and emotional numbness, and pain issues, as well as physical symptoms not fully explained by a known medical diagnosis.

Participants receive a complete psychiatric evaluation and ongoing assessment, individual and group psychotherapy, illness education, medication management, coping skills, family therapy, spiritual counseling, a community resources needs assessment, and nutrition education.

The Wisdom program focuses on senior-aged individuals dealing with anxiety, depression, grief and loss, life-stage changes, mild-to-moderate memory complaints, and other mental symptoms. Outpatient treatments include the same services and activities used by the Connection program, with the addition of memory testing and

1990 LLU Medical Center Board votes to purchase former Charter Hospital.

1998 Redlands Drug Court graduations move to BMC.

1991 LLU Behavioral Medicine Center (BMC) opens, treating 784 inpatients and 200 outpatients in its first year.

Strategic plan developed for Behavioral Health Institute (BHI).

1994 Partial hospitalization programs relocate to BMC. 1997 Contract signed to provide patient services for Kaiser Permanente.

Senior unit opens.

2001 More than 700 treated for chronic pain medication dependency.

BMC celebrates 10th anniversary.

BMC Board approves the development of the new Behavioral Health Institute.

Adult and adolescent eating disorder Lomaopens.

Linda University Health program

techniques for enhancing memory.

“The mind is a powerful tool,” Field suggests. “Mental health issues can have a dramatic effect on one’s life, but with the help of mental health professionals, as well as support from families and communities, a sense of hope can be restored in people’s lives.”

He continues, “The physical, mental, social, and spiritual aspects of one’s existence are equally important to quality of life, and our goal is to help our patients and their families find a peaceful balance.”

Right: In 2006, the BMC opened its intensive mental health outpatient program for children ages 5 to 11.

2004 Approval given to buy land adjacent to the BMC to build the Behavioral Health Institute.

2006 Intensive outpatient program opens for children ages 5–11.

2008 Ground is broken for new BHI. First annual Seeds of Hope raises $225,000 in pledges and donations.

BMC receives first major grant to develop SHIELD program (for adolescents self injure), which SCOPE | Springwho 2016 opens later that year.

2010 BHI opens, bringing together various mental health practices to provide outpatient services and facilitate research and collaboration.

2012 Adult partial hospitalization program opens at LLUMC–Murrieta.

Unit for youth expands to 41 beds.

2015 BMC celebrates 25 years of serving the communities of Southern California and beyond with mental health services.

BMC treats 4,280 outpatients and 1,588 inpatients.

MEND program begins, designed for children suffering from significant medical illnesses.

2014 Adolescent partial hospitalization program expands.

13

CLINICAL CARE

Liver recipients at Transplantation Institute have best one-year survival rates in Southern California

By Larry Kidder

W

hole person care at Loma Linda University Transplantation Institute seems to be making a difference. Liver transplant recipients at Loma Linda live longer than those served by all other transplant centers in Southern California.

“It tells us that our efforts over the past five years are paying off,” says Michael de Vera, MD, director of Loma Linda University Transplantation Institute.

The Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, an organization tasked by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with compiling these and other transplantation-related statistics, found that LLU Transplantation Institute recipients had a 94.44 percent survival rate after one year (source: SRTR.org).

Surgeons at Loma Linda have per-

formed more than 500 liver transplants since the first one in 1993.

De Vera attributes the program’s success to key differences with similar organizations in the region. “All physicians and more than 50 staff members of the institute are physically in one place,” he explains. “This allows us to work in unison toward our goals and provide more coordinated care, as well as better convenience for our patients.”

In addition to follow-up transplant care in one location, patients receive counseling on diet and healthy living, and they are invited to join support groups for them and their caregivers in an environment that welcomes spirituality and individuality.

Michael de Vera, MD, left, Loma Linda University Transplantation Institute director, consults with transplant surgeon Michael Volk, MD, medical director for the institute and hepatologist. The two oversee comprehensive care for transplant patients, from surgery to pre- and post-surgery, as well as continuing support for patients and families.

Affiliation will bring new medical specialties to Southern Mono Healthcare District

By Nancy Yuen and Susan Onuma

A

n affiliation between Loma Linda University Health and Southern Mono Healthcare District became effective November 1, 2015.

Imagine a mother living in a small town who is experiencing a high-risk

14

pregnancy. She is in her second trimester when her OB-GYN discovers a heart anomaly in her unborn child. Working seamlessly with an extensive team of specialists, her doctor, who works in a 25-bed hospital, presents her with a treatment plan that will provide her with the best care available.

“An affiliation between Loma Linda University Health and Southern Mono Healthcare District will make stories like this possible,” says Peter Baker, JD, vice president for business development, Loma Linda University Medical Center.

“The affiliation will protect the well-being and improve the health of our residents and guests,” affirms Gary Myers, CEO, Mammoth Hospital, which is part of the healthcare district, “enabling our hospital to enhance its service offerings and provide more specialty

care in Eastern Sierra.”

“The affiliation is driven by Loma Linda’s mission ‘to continue the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus Christ,’” says Baker, “and not purely a business decision.”

According to Richard Hart, MD, DrPH, president, Loma Linda University Health, “The affiliation is a step in fulfilling our strategic plan of establishing a clinical integration network that extends our ability to provide health care to local communities, while increasing access to tertiary, quaternary, and advanced specialty care for the vast four-county area that falls within our purview.”

Kerry Heinrich, JD, CEO, Loma Linda University Medical Center, says, “Loma Linda University Health is focused on improving the health status of communities and individuals throughout the broad region it serves.”

Loma Linda University Health

CLINICAL CARE

Lynn Martell, DMin, right, director of special services at the James M. Slater, MD, Proton Treatment and Research Center, interviews Daniel Alter during the center’s 25th anniversary celebrations. When Alter said he remained free of the rare brain tumor, those attending the event broke into spontaneous applause.

Future rabbi shares story at 25th anniversary of James M. Slater, MD, Proton Treatment and Research Center

By James Ponder

T

he world’s first hospital-based proton therapy facility recently celebrated a significant milestone.

Hundreds of current and former patients of the James M. Slater, MD,

Proton Treatment and Research Center converged on Loma Linda University Medical Center October 25 and 26, 2015, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the trailblazing facility that saved their lives.

After the inaugural patient reunion dinner, a full calendar of hikes, tours, seminars, cooking demonstrations, a history-wall unveiling, a film screening, and numerous other activities created plenty of opportunities for fellowship and camaraderie.

At the culminating October 26 event, Lynn Martell, DMin, director of special services, shared stories of men and women who overcame prostate cancer, breast cancer or other serious diseases.

The crowd cheered enthusiastically as Martell invited one of the first pediatric patients ever treated with proton therapy to join him on stage.

When he was 12, Daniel Alter was diagnosed with clival chordoma, a very

rare and aggressive spinal tumor.

“It was larger than your fist,” Alter told the crowd, “and it had wrapped itself around my brain stem. The tumor had eaten away the top vertebrae in my neck, so that when they removed it, there was literally not enough to keep my head on. So they had to fuse my neck, which they did the next day.”

After having 95 to 97 percent of the tumor removed surgically, Alter journeyed to the James M. Slater, MD, Proton Research and Treatment Center in September 1997 to kill the rest of it through proton therapy. When he was discharged later that year, Alter was told he would have to be vigilant to ensure the tumor did not return.

“I had regular MRIs for the next 10 or 15 years,” he recalls, “but thank God, there was never a recurrence. Surgery and proton radiation quite literally saved my life!”

The crowd broke into spontaneous applause as Alter, now 31, revealed that he is a year and a half away from fulfilling his dream of becoming a rabbi.

“What would you say to someone diagnosed with cancer today?”

Martell asked.

Without missing a beat, Alter turned to the audience and said, “You are not your disease. So many people hear a diagnosis and instantly name themselves by their disease. ‘I’m a cancer patient,’ they say. ‘I’m this or that.’ No you’re not; you’re you. You’ve had to deal with some unfortunate things and for that, I’m sorry. It can really be rough.

“In Judaism,” the future Rabbi Alter concluded, “we teach about two different kinds of healing. There is healing and there is curing. Curing is the body getting rid of the virus, getting rid of the cancer. Healing is in the mind and spirit. These two are independent. The best treatments recognize both of these important aspects and work toward a ‘r’fua shlema,’ a complete healing of mind, body, and spirit. But no matter what, remember that you are not your disease. Remember who you are!”

Daniel Alter credits proton therapy with saving his life following a rare childhood brain tumor. Nearly two decades later, he remains free of any recurrence.

SCOPE | Spring 2016

15

CLINICAL CARE

Adults with congenital heart disease have new team looking out for them

By Larry Kidder

T

he field of pediatric cardiology has made remarkable gains in recent decades. Today, an estimated 95 percent of infants born with noncritical congenital heart disease, and nearly 70 percent of infants born with critical congenital heart disease, will be alive for their 18th birthdays.

That’s great news! But more surviving infants grow up to adulthood with a history of adult congenital heart disease (ACHD), and many fewer cardiologists for adults are fellowship-trained in this subspecialty.

To meet a growing need among these adults, Loma Linda University International Heart Institute has created the first clinic in the Inland Empire region dedicated to treating ACHD. “Our clinic fills the gap that exists for pediatric cardiology patients as they reach adulthood,” explains Daniel

As pediatric congenital heart disease patients become adults, their special needs may be overlooked or misunderstood by their adult health caregivers. The adult congenital heart disease clinic has been designed to address that possibility and the team ensures that consistent care continues as patients enter adulthood.

16

Daniel Sanchez, MD, left, and Cynthia Glasgow, CNP, have formed the adult congenital heart disease clinic to continue meeting the specialized needs of congenital heart disease patients into adulthood.

Sanchez, MD, cardiologist and lead physician for the ACHD Clinic. “The transition out of pediatric cardiology care typically begins between the ages of 18 and 21.”

Sanchez is fellowship trained in ACHD. “Making the transition to adult cardiology prevents a lapse in care,” he continues, “as patients encounter adult health issues, such as those related to pregnancy and aging.”

Sanchez and Cynthia Glasgow, a nurse practitioner specialist, manage the care of ACHD patients in the clinic, many of whom have undergone multiple surgeries and other procedures to repair their hearts.

In response, they do their best to use minimally invasive procedures whenever possible to avoid the trauma and long-term impact of major surgery for their patients. However, when surgery is required, Loma Linda University Health offers the best surgeons available.

“We most commonly see patients who have undergone repairs for atrial and ventricular septal defect, bicuspid aortic valve, and tetralogy of Fallot,” explains Glasgow. “Whatever the

diagnosis, however, each patient has a nuanced version that requires a personalized management approach.”

Sanchez and Glasgow work closely with the best specialists in the region to create a treatment plan for each of their adult patients that will optimize quality of life. ACHD patients are three to four times more likely to experience coronary heart disease, stroke, heart attack, or a myriad of other cardiacrelated health threats.

Some of the procedures offered through the ACHD clinic include transcatheter heart valve replacement (the only Joint Commission-accredited program in the Inland Empire region), catheter ablation, ballooning and stenting, and surgical repair of congenital defects.

“We’re here to help pediatric patients transition successfully into young adulthood and beyond,” Sanchez points out. “We want them to experience a quality life.”

To contact the ACHD clinic for more information, email achd@llu.edu.

Loma Linda University Health

RESEARCH

A crisis of our times Social work professor serves Afghan refugees in Turkey

By Heather Reifsnyder

D

riven by violence, poverty, and corrupt governance, Afghans often flee their country in hopes of finding a better life in Turkey and eventually the European Union. They put their lives in the hands of smugglers no better than gangsters who lead them on a perilous journey through Iran.

Tragically, Afghan refugees who have made it to Turkey feel almost as much stress as Afghans remaining at home in times of armed conflict, according to new research by Qais Alemi, PhD, MPH, MBA, assistant professor of social work and social ecology, LLU School of Behavioral Health.

“While Afghans in Turkey don’t live under the threat of war,” Alemi says, “their mental health is negatively impacted by issues related to jobs, money, separation from and worry about family back home, and fears of being deported.”

Alemi traveled to Istanbul, Turkey, in September to conduct surveys and face-to-face interviews with Afghan migrants who were living in the city’s Zeytinburnu district.

So many had not found what they were looking for. One male participant, age 20, said, “I want a stable life and to not have to worry. … I’ve already seen so much in my life.”

This young man dreams of eventually reaching Germany, he says, “so I can study and rebuild my life and

eventually send money to my family in Afghanistan.”

He had only just arrived in Istanbul, and time will tell what becomes of him.

Some Afghans whom Alemi interviewed, however, have been in Zeytinburnu 18 years, never finding the life they sought.

Alemi explains that the Turkish government no longer views Afghans as legitimate refugees because the war in Afghanistan was declared over when NATO ended combat operations there.

Many are in Turkey illegally, unable to find good work, unable to sustain a livelihood conducive to good health.

They still live in the poverty they sought to escape.

Alemi continues to further analyze the data he gathered from the 168 surveys and 15 face-to-face interviews. He hopes to publish his findings, apply for grants, and perhaps create an intervention plan down the road to help Afghan refugees.

For Alemi, the project is both professional and personal. In 1979, he escaped Afghanistan as a refugee with his family, traveled through similar smuggling routes in Iran, and eventually resettled in the United States in 1981. Unlike Afghan refugees who land in Turkey, he has found what he was looking for—a good life. He hopes to help other refugees find the same thing.

Also contributing to this research project are Susanne Montgomery, PhD,

Qais Alemi, PhD, MPH, MBA

associate dean for research, School of Behavioral Health; doctoral students in the School of Behavioral Health; and Carl Stempel, PhD, a professor at California State University East Bay. Montgomery says, “In this time of intense discussion about migrants from conflict zones, Dr. Alemi’s work with Afghan refugees is incredibly important, as it reminds us to reconsider the current narrative to be more compassionate, supportive, and welcoming to those who have already lost so much.

“Dr. Alemi’s work provides a critical perspective and allows unique insights into the lives of those displaced.”

“While Afghans in Turkey don’t live under the threat of war, their mental health is negatively impacted by issues related to jobs, money, separation from and worry about family back home, and fears of being deported.”

SCOPE | Spring Winter–Spring 2016 2015

17

RESEARCH

DNA sequencers propel Loma Linda research into the future of medicine

By James Ponder

T

wo DNA sequencers—considered trailblazing tools for unlocking the secrets of health and disease at the molecular level—are introducing Loma Linda University researchers to the futuristic world of precision medicine.

Both powerful machines can map the human genome, opening up research avenues into how each gene in a person affects her or his health and how treatments can thus be personalized to that person’s particular brain and body.

The first sequencer, an Illumina NextSeq 550 funded by a $280,000 NIH grant, can sequence an entire human genome—the complete chromosomal set containing all inheritable traits of an organism—in just 1.5 days.

Charles Wang, MD, PhD, MPH, director of the Center for Genomics at Loma Linda University School of Medicine, says earlier models took 11 or 12 days.

“It’s great for small projects and for testing research theories,” he notes.

The second, an Illumina HiSeq 4000, is considerably more powerful.

Wang says it allows researchers to carry out large projects, such as those using data and specimens from the Adventist Health Studies, to determine the effects of lifestyle on epigenomic reprogramming and longevity.

This newer, more advanced model can sequence 12 whole human genomes in less than four days. With the HiSeq 4000, LLU scientists can conduct sophisticated studies essential

18

Ardmore Institute of Health representatives recently visited the School of Medicine for a special dedication ceremony for the new Illumina HiSeq 4000 DNA sequencer purchased, in part, through the institute’s generous gift. In attendance were, from left to right: Richard Hart, MD, DrPH, president of Loma Linda University Health; Penny Duerksen-Hughes, PhD, associate dean, LLUSM; Charles Wang, MD, PhD, MPH, director of the Center for Genomics at LLUSM; Kimberly Payne, PhD, director of translational research at LLUSM; Bonnie House; Franklin House, MD, board member, Ardmore Institute of Health; Kevin Brown, MS, MBA, president and CEO, Ardmore Institute of Health; Ron Stout, MD, MPH, board chair, Ardmore Institute of Health; and Roger Hadley, MD, dean of LLUSM.

to unlocking the potential of precision medicine. This is medicine customized for each patient according to their individual genetic makeup. Funding for the $1.1 million purchase is being provided by the Ardmore Institute of Health and other donors.

“The act of turning a particular gene on or off can influence how an individual responds to internal and external stressors and whether or not a person gets a disease for which they are genetically predisposed,” says Penelope DuerksenHughes, PhD, associate dean for basic sciences at Loma Linda University School of Medicine.

Research using the new machines has already started. In one recent study, Lubo Zhang, PhD, director of the Center for Perinatal Biology at LLU School of Medicine, used DNA screening to evaluate outcomes in baby mice whose mothers were subjected to hypoxia.

Wang says Zhang’s research will not only benefit millions of

humans living at high altitude, but he foresees other important applications.

“Pregnant women exposed to cigarette smoking or drugs, especially cocaine, will predispose their fetuses to lower oxygen levels, as both smoking and drug usage during pregnancy cause blood vessels in the uterus to constrict, leading to a hypoxic environment for fetuses, which will cause many detrimental health effects.”

In another study, Duerksen-Hughes and Wang developed a novel, DNAsequencing-based method to discover why the human papilloma virus sometimes integrates itself into the host genome. If the research succeeds, physicians may be able to decrease the frequency of genital cancer caused by this common sexually transmitted disease.

Continued next page, bottom left

Penny Duerksen-Hughes, PhD, left, associate dean for basic sciences at Loma Linda University School of Medicine, and Charles Wang, MD, PhD, MPH, right, director of the Center for Genomics at the School of Medicine, celebrate the arrival of the Illumina HiSeq 4000 DNA sequencer, which will allow them to conduct a variety of sophisticated research studies and will lead to health breakthroughs in the emerging field of precision medicine.

Loma Linda University Health

RESEARCH

Dark chocolate is good for you Loma Linda University research shows

By James Ponder

D

ark chocolate—a pick-me-up of choice for many—has recently been shown by Loma Linda University to be good for brain function.

Lee Berk, DrPH, associate professor and associate research professor at Loma Linda University schools of Allied Health Professions and Medicine, says consuming dark chocolate with a cacao content of 70 percent or more confers several health benefits.

Previous research has shown that dark chocolate is a major source of flavonoids—powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory components beneficial to cardiovascular health. Berk’s study, however, extends the benefits to the brain.

“For the first time, we have shown that there is a possible connection of specific brain wave activity that initiates the mechanisms of cacao’s beneficial effects on brain reasoning and intellect, synchronization, memory, recall, mood, and behavior,” Berk reports.

Cacao, a dried powder made from seeds of the Theobroma cacao tree, was widely believed in early times to have magical powers. This research provides scientific evidence that chocolate has significant medicinal benefits that are no longer mystical.

Berk presented the findings at the 45th annual Society for Neuroscience meetings in Chicago in October 2015 and the Experimental Biology Conference in San Diego in April 2016.

To read the Journal of Neuroscience article, visit www.abstractsonline.com/ Plan/SSResults.aspx.

Above: Eating dark chocolate with a cacao content of 70 percent or more benefits the brain in several ways, according to research by Lee Berk, PhD, who presented his findings at the October 2015 meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. Below left: Father and son chocolate aficionados Lee and Ryan Berk check the consistency of a batch of dark chocolate. Below right: Ryan Berk shows his father cacao pods, the source of chocolate.

DNA sequencers propel Loma Linda research into the future of medicine …

Continued from previous page

A rich treasury for researchers at Loma Linda University is the Adventist Health Studies. Data from the decadeslong investigation into a variety of health and lifestyle factors will enable scientists, using the DNA sequencers, to identify specific genetic, epigenetic, and transcripSCOPE | Spring 2016

tion mechanisms that link certain lifestyle practices to increased health and longevity.

“DNA and RNA sequencing will allow us to study the mechanisms of cause and effect—to learn which genes are being turned on or off and to what degree,” says Duerksen-Hughes. “This is where it gets really exciting.”

Wang agrees. “Many exciting projects are planned using the gene sequencers. I am very happy with my decision to join the LLU family in 2013 and thrilled at what has been achieved so far. These new tools will help us in our quest for answers that will have a profound impact for generations to come.”

19

EDUCATION

The humanities play a vital role in scientific education

By Heather Reifsnyder

I

ntertwined in all that happens at Loma Linda University Health are science and religion. The School of Religion adds the humanities into this mix as a vital part of upholding the campus ethos of compassionate concern for the whole person. And as Ecclesiastes 4:12 notes, a cord of three strands is not easily broken.

The School of Religion’s humanities program offers monthly events that address questions of art, philosophy, culture, ethics, and more.

The events are open to students, staff, and the community.

“These programs address what some call the silent curriculum at Loma Linda University—an extra element that helps maintain a campus culture of thoughtful reflection and meaningful engagement with life’s big questions,” says James Walters, PhD, professor of ethical studies and director of the humanities program.

The program’s offerings include plays, lectures, panel discussions, and an annual film festival. A university-wide humanities council supports and guides the program’s activities.

Perhaps most popular are the theatrical plays produced twice yearly. Through the beauty of story, intriguing facets of controversial or profound issues are explored through various characters.

Community member Jared Wright has attended a number of the plays over the past few years.

“The performances have touched on important themes through creative storytelling, and they’ve sparked interesting conversations about faith and doubt, war and peacemaking, and the many ways people understand God,” Wright says. “I’m glad there is a space within Adventism for the melding of faith, broadly considered, and the performing arts.”

In one recent production, “The

20

God Committee,” playwright Mark St. Germain explores the clash between money, medicine, and morality within the context of deciding which patient should receive a donated heart for transplant.

Other recent themes explored by the humanities programming are free will, war, gospel, women’s ordination, Einstein’s view of God, and how a discussion between Freud and C.S. Lewis would play out.

“Life presents important issues that ought to be talked about, and we address those,” says Walters.

Following the programs, a provocative conversation often takes place between audience members and presenters. The discussions demonstrate that there may be differing legitimate viewpoints worth exchanging about complex but vital topics.

Perhaps above all, the humanities productions are a way for Loma Linda University Health to tackle societal topics through an Adventist point of view.

It allows Adventists to make a contribution to discussion in the public square

and put forward the best thinking of their religious heritage.

According to Einstein, religion, art, and science are all branches of the same tree.

The School of Religion’s humanities program allows ample opportunity for all three components to be explored within the Adventist context at Loma Linda University Health. (Incidentally, Einstein’s views on faith were the topic of a recent humanities lecture at Loma Linda by Robert Piccioni, PhD, physicist, cosmologist, and Einstein expert.)

As Einstein further says of art, religion, and science, “All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man’s life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.”

Below: Cast members of “The God Committee” capture the audience with their performance of this play about the clash between money, medicine, and morality within the context of deciding which patient should receive a donated heart for transplant.

Loma Linda University Health

EDUCATION

Academic programs continue to grow

By Courtney Haas

L

oma Linda University remains ever current on changing needs for educational programs in the health professions. Two new programs will begin in 2016.

Doctor of science in religion and health While the new doctor of science (DSc) degree was initially crafted to help associate chaplains or those with master of divinity (MDiv) degrees seeking full board certification in chaplaincy, the School of Religion soon realized it can play a larger role in the emerging scholarly field of religion and health.

This program is the School of Religion’s first doctorate—and it is the

first doctoral degree in religion and health nationwide.

“The integration of faith and health provides the foundation for all education at Loma Linda University,” says Carla Gober-Park, PhD, MS, MPH, associate program director. “This degree is a culmination of our belief that faith and health go hand in hand.”

In addition to aspiring chaplains, those with a master’s degree in religion and theology or individuals with master’s training in health-related fields are encouraged to enter the doctoral program, which will begin this fall.

Bachelor of science in radiation therapy The department of radiation technology in the School of Allied Health

Professions is moving its radiation therapy university certificate to a bachelor’s degree.

The existing program is undergoing curriculum development as part of the transition to a BS, but it will remain a face-to-face program with Web-enhanced online courses. New core courses are being added, such as moral leadership and management of a radiology service. Computed tomography courses are also being embedded in the radiation therapy program.

There will be two entrance tracks— radiographer and non-radiographer.

The latter will require an allied health or nursing degree with patient care experience.

The non-radiographer track will start in the summer, and the radiographer track will start in the fall.

School of Allied Health Professions celebrates 50 years

By Courtney Haas

L

oma Linda University School of Allied Health Professions celebrated a half century on Saturday, April 23, 2016, during its 50th Anniversary Homecoming Gala, part of homecoming weekend (April 20–24).

“Fifty years is considered a golden celebration, and this is the golden year of the School of Allied Health Professions,” says Craig

SCOPE | Spring 2016

Jackson, JD, MSW, dean of the School of Allied Health Professions. “Since 1966, our school has graduated thousands of alumni who have brought healing and comfort to their communities and the world.”

He continues, “Because of our alumni, we continue to be a place known for compassionate healers and humble leaders.”

The homecoming weekend showcased the achievements and accomplishments of the school and its alumni.

Each alumnus received one free ticket to the gala, which featured the Stratton Half Brothers, a hilariously talented trio.

21

EDUCATION

Best practices shared during 10th International Academic Week at Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital

By Nancy Yuen

P

hysicians at Zhejiang University Children’s Hospital had chosen the case carefully. The injuries happened quickly—attracted by bright flames and cooking food, a child toddled to the stove, grabbing the bubbling pot.

“Tragically, it is common in China for children as young as 1 year old to experience ‘nose-to-navel’ burns caused by boiling water and cooking oil,” says Subhas Gupta, MD, PhD, professor and chair, department of plastic surgery, Loma Linda University Health, who supervised the reconstruction. “The injuries are devastating, as the resulting burns may cause the skin to contract as keloids (scars) form.”

Gupta was part of the team of physicians and dentists who traveled to China from Loma Linda in late 2015 as part of the 10th International Academic Week at Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital (SRRSH).

Pediatric continuing education courses

were held at the new 800-bed Zhejiang University Children’s Hospital.

According to Jan Zumwalt, MS, MBA, associate director, Global Health Institute, “Loma Linda University Health and SRRSH dentists and physicians have benefited from continuing education courses taught in both locations for many years. This includes International Academic Week, which is held each year in China.”

During International Academic Week, Gupta also shared extensive treatment plans for children born with congenital clefting extending from the hairline to below the lip, which may have been caused by exposure to carbon monoxide in utero. Additionally, he addressed requested topics of adult plastic surgery.

“While plastic surgeons who treat adult patients continue to repair wounds caused by trauma,” he says, “there is an increasing interest in aesthetic surgery.”

Every year, there is great excitement

about the dental education component of International Academic Week.

During the 2015 meetings, more than 100 dentists from hospitals and private practices attended lectures taught by LLU faculty members Susan Richards, DDS, MS, associate professor, department of oral and maxillofacial surgery, and Carlos Moretta, DDS, MS, assistant professor, department of oral and maxillofacial surgery.

Richards lectured on clinical diagnosis of odontogenic cysts and tumors, while Moretta addressed oral surgical procedures.

The dental clinic at SRRSH predates the hospital’s opening. In 1990, Lloyd Baum, DDS, one of the founding faculty members of LLU School of Dentistry, was asked to explore the possibility of establishing a dental clinic there. He had helped create the International Dentist Program at Loma Linda six years earlier.

On September 13, 1993, almost a year before SRRSH opened its doors, the dental clinic opened. Practices introduced included universal infection control; how to work closely with dental lab technicians and dental assistants; and pain-free dentistry, among many other topics. In 2001, Leif K. Bakland, DDS, presented a course on endodontics (root canal treatment), an area of dentistry that was mostly unknown in China at the time.

According to Zumwalt, International Academic Week, now funded by SRRSH, is a well-known, national meeting that has grown to attract health care professionals from throughout China.

Top left: Subhas Gupta, MD, PhD, second from right, repairs a child’s burns. Top right: Gupta receives recognition for his work at SRRSH. Left: Carlos Moretta, DDS, MS, second from left, and Susan Richards, DDS, MS, third from left—both LLU School of Dentistry faculty members, taught classes at SRRSH.

22

Loma Linda University Health

OUTREACH

LLU students mentor teen parents through Project Hope

By Nancy Yuen

O

n a Friday afternoon in San Bernardino, high school students took turns monitoring the entrance to their classroom.

From the last row someone called: “Do you see them?”

“Not yet.” A few minutes later, the alert was given: “They’re here!”

As medical, nursing and public health students from Loma Linda University entered, the tone in the room was replaced by an affected mood of casual disinterest.

Marti Baum, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics, had observed the scene.

Baum is faculty advisor for Project Hope.

“Volunteers for Project Hope mentor adolescent parents and pregnant teens,” she says. “The kids’ lives are in chaos; while they look forward to their time with the Loma Linda students, they put on a tough exterior that says, ‘I don’t care too much’ to help maintain selfpreservation.”

Tina Pruna, MPH, is director of Community-Academic Partners in Service at Loma Linda University.

“Project Hope is a student-led program,” she says, “and is open to all Loma Linda students. Every volunteer has something to offer.”

Carolyn Pearce and Megan Dickson, both medical students, are project directors. They develop curricula that is modified and presented by the volun-

“We’ve met a diverse group with teers. “In the beginning we teach soft skills,” says Pearce, a common theme—a desire to “such as how to look people be better, to be there for their in the eye or how to start a children, and to be the best parent conversation.”

“Working one-on-one they can be.” with the students, our volunteers build on these skills,” says Dickson, me. She was fascinated when I showed “teaching self-empowerment and helping her a sonogram of a person’s heart on them learn that they are in charge of the my cell phone; she’s now considering becoming a sonogram tech.” direction their lives will take.”

Baum recounts a story shared by Dickson and Pearce cherish the time a student. “I’ve worked hard to help spent with their own mentees. “Because Angela* pass her classes,” the student we are working with an at-risk populavolunteer told the girl’s teacher, “and she’s tion,” says Dickson, “it is easy to assume that the students are struggling academi- struggling.”

The teacher responded, “Did you cally. But we’ve met a diverse group with a common theme—a desire to be better, know that the only day she comes to school is the day you’re here?” to be there for their children and to be “This student experienced what I call the best parent they can be.” ‘the walk,’” says Baum. “Learning a per“We see the students begin to trust son’s story allows us to walk in someone themselves and their ability to be good else’s shoes. Experiences such as these parents,” says Pearce. “They share their help frame our students’ lives, helping stories and begin to think about their future education and careers. One of the them understand how to work with girls shared a sonogram of her baby with high-risk populations.

Project Hope is entirely student led. It provides one-on-one mentoring to high school students who are parents or who are expecting a child. Project Hope volunteers include, standing, from left: School of Medicine students Carolyn Pearce, Megan Dickson, Nicole Spady, Alice Ing, Kevin Ing, and, seated from left: Kelcie Alexander, Victoria Haase, Juliette Personius, and Katie Concepcion.

SCOPE | Spring 2016

23

OUTREACH

Malamulo Hospital marks 100 years of healing “These are the local missionaries who choose to work at a Christian institution where they might not be paid as much as they could elsewhere,” Blanchard says.

“They choose to work because they feel they can help make a difference in the lives of those in need. And these are the people who make up Malamulo.”

The celebration itself was an opportunity for both Malawians and expatriates to partake in the journey that has led the hospital to where it is today. One attendee shared her story of working as a nurse at the hospital in the early years.

Lisnett Chipyoza is now 106 years old. She began working at Malamulo when she was 19 years old in 1925 and later went on to become a nurse midwife.

Chipyoza shared that she was one of the first Malawian nurses. Working at Malamulo approximately 10 years after its opening, Chipyoza encountered hardships along the way. Serving as an early nurse at a Christian hospital, her family was ridiculed and threatened, but despite this she chose to stay.

“Every time I would even consider quitting I would have a dream or vision showing me my purpose,” Chipyoza says. “God would show me what I was supposed to do and that was work at Malamulo and help people.”

Chipyoza’s daughter shared that her mother was loved by all her patients.

Everyone wanted to have her as their midwife because she was kind, caring and good at her job.

Individuals like Chipyoza have shaped and formed Malamulo into a hospital that continues to provide health care to those in need.

In attendance at the anniversary event were General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church representatives, Loma Linda University Health faculty and staff, representatives

Malamulo CEO Jason Blanchard, left, is congratulated by Malawian Health Minister Peter Kumpalume during the 100-year celebration of Malamulo Hospital.

Blanchard assists 106-year-old nurse midwife Lisnett Chipyoza in cutting the cake.

By Courtney Haas

S

ixty-five kilometers from the city of Blantyre in the southern part of Malawi, Makwasa is home to what has today become a place of health and healing—Malamulo Hospital.

Beginning as a primary school in 1902, Malamulo went on to add a clinic in 1915 and later transformed into a leprosarium. Thus began the rich history of service for which Malamulo is renowned throughout the country.

On September 8, 2015, Malamulo Hospital held a centenary celebration to honor 100 years of healing. Throughout the years the hospital has struggled and persevered through trying times and successes alike.

Every hospital has its ups and downs, and this 200-bed mission facility located amongst fields of tea leaves, with some of the most beautiful sunrises one will ever see, is no different.

The event was coordinated by local Malawians and missionaries serving at the mission hospital. Jason Blanchard, CEO of Malamulo, shared that he wanted this event to not simply be focused on the work of the American missionaries, but on the work of the Malawians.

24

Loma Linda University Health President Richard Hart, MD, DrPH, is welcomed by Malawian Health Minister Peter Kumpalume in front of a plaque celebrating the event.

Loma Linda University Health

from the South Africa-Indian Ocean Division of the Adventist Church, Malawian Health Minister Peter Kumpalume and many more. All joined together to reminisce on what the hospital has endured and to envision where it will go from here.

Since that time many decades ago when Chipyoza was walking the hall of Malamulo on her work shifts, Malamulo has continued to grow and flourish in the community.

Serving as home to 36 Loma Linda University School of Medicine alumni throughout the years, with scores more coming as short-term volunteers, Loma Linda University Health chose to designate Malamulo as its first field station, utilizing the facility for faculty research, resident rotations and student training.

Today the 200-bed hospital is increasingly sophisticated and covers all major medical specialties while serving as a teaching hospital. In 2014 Malamulo became a part of the Pan African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS), a surgical residency program for African physicians.

The program is a strategic response to the need for surgeons in Africa and allows for surgical residents to train at one of the PAACS hospitals and then go on to work LLUH President Hart enjoys a light-hearted moment with Tinashe Masina, possibly a future nurse.

SCOPE | Spring 2016

An honor guard of the local Pathfinder Club adds to the solemnity of the occasion, accompanying some of the leaders present at the ceremony in a review of the Pathfinder members.

in Africa upon completion. The need for surgeons is ever growing, and this program is just one of the many advances that Malamulo is supporting to provide superior care to African countries.

In addition to this, in 2016 Malamulo will also be designated as the first teledermatology laboratory in Malawi. The country was chosen specifically because it is the third poorest in the world, and there are no permanent dermatologists or dermatopathologist specialists in the country.

This project will serve to make health care available to a much broader audience through telemedicine.

Malamulo also offers Malawi’s first Women’s Center, providing Pap smears, colposcopy and other treatment protocols.

This is in addition to the wellestablished Malamulo College of Health Sciences, which offers training programs in nursing, medical assisting, laboratory technology and clinical leadership.

Today Malamulo stands strong, and throughout the past 100 years, it has become a household name in the local community and throughout Malawi.

Because of the dedicated workers, both local and those from Loma Linda University Health, this facility will continue to grow in stature and expertise.

“It is indeed a privilege for Loma Linda to be identified with Malamulo,” says Richard Hart, MD, DrPH, president of Loma Linda University Health.

“We look forward to even more collaboration and innovations in the future.”

Nurse midwife Chipyoza, center, at 106 years old, takes part in the celebration, sharing her story and singing her favorite song, “Sweet Hour of Prayer,” with the congregation.

25

ALUMNI

A first reunion School of Behavioral Health alumni come together in a new tradition

By Heather Reifsnyder

T

he words “Then and Now” remind just how far behavioral health education has come into its own at Loma Linda University.

These words were the theme of the first-ever alumni banquet held in October for graduates of the behavioral health programs—counseling and family sciences, psychology, and social work.

From this night, a tradition was born, as most other schools at LLU have, that will bring an annual convening of behavioral health alumni.

The theme was a nod to the school’s proud history and promising future.

The School of Behavioral Health was formed in 2012 after several steps of succession of entities to which the behavioral health programs belonged.

It was initially part of the Graduate School, founded in 1954, and then part of the School of Science and Technology, founded in 2002.

Through it all, and now as its own entity, the School of Behavioral Health has produced an impressive group of graduates who are well known in the local Inland Empire region and beyond as mental health professionals of skill and compassion.

To date, the behavioral health programs boast 2,710 alumni—1,737 from counseling and family sciences, 233 from psychology, and 740 from social work.

“Your graduates have changed the context of practice in the Inland Empire,” an important local public health official recently told Dean Beverly Buckles, DSW. Buckles shared this during her remarks at the banquet, which

“The skills we’re going to need are going to call on the best of all of you.”

26

drew about 250 alumni, as well as a live online audience of alumni from across the U.S. and around the globe.

Keynote speaker Richard Hart, MD, DrPH, president of Loma Linda University Health, argued that behavioral health professionals are vital to improving health and wholeness in individuals and communities.

“If we are going to have any impact on the community—and Loma Linda University Health is committed to doing so—it lies in your hands,” Hart said to the assembled alumni.

Improving lives cannot happen without relationships and support systems, he added. “The skills we’re going to need are going to call on the best of all of you.”

Alumnus Aaron Bernard, MS, class of 2007, spoke about the gratitude he feels for being able to positively impact people’s lives.

“I want to thank Loma Linda University for giving me the chance to be a light to people every day,” he said.

Bernard is not alone. He is one of many behavioral health alumni who help light the darkness in people’s lives.

Happy to see each other are, from left: Michele Bourbonnais, MS, class of 2015; Lolita Domingue-Walker MS, clinical supervisor, department of counseling and family sciences; and Monique Lewis-Willis, PhD, class of 2015.

Loma Linda University Health

ALUMNI

In memoriam Lawrence D. Longo

By James Ponder

A

man who dedicated his entire career to making life better for mothers and babies has left his post at Loma Linda University School of Medicine (LLUSM) for the last time.

Lawrence D. Longo. MD, founder and director emeritus of the Center for Perinatal Biology, Bernard D. Briggs Distinguished Professor of Physiology, and professor of obstetrics and gynecology, passed away on Tuesday, January 5, 2016, after a brief hospitalization. He was 89.

Widely known as an influential leader in the fields of developmental biology and physiology, maternal-fetal medicine, and obstetrics/gynecology, Longo was internationally famous for the breadth of his research, for authoring or co-authoring 20 books and more than 350 articles in scientific publications, and for mentoring thousands of students, many of whom became leading practitioners.

Born October 11, 1926, in Los Angeles, California, the budding researcher attended Pacific Union

College (PUC) in Angwin, California.

While there, he met and fell in love with fellow student Betty Jeanne Mundall.

The couple married September 9, 1948, in Glendale, California.

After graduating from PUC in 1949, Longo enrolled in the College of Medical Evangelists, as LLUSM was then known. When he graduated with the MD degree in 1954, he took an internship and residency at Los Angeles County Hospital followed by a fellowship at University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

From 1959 to 1962, Longo served a stint of mission service for the Seventhday Adventist Church in Ile Ife, Nigeria.

Upon returning to the United States, he was convinced he could make his best contribution in the context of academic medicine rather than patient care.

With that in mind, he accepted a position as assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UCLA in 1962. In 1964, he transferred to University of Pennsylvania to serve as assistant professor.

In 1968, Longo joined the LLUSM

Lawrence D. Longo, MD, founder and director emeritus of the Center for Perinatal Biology, Bernard D. Briggs Distinguished Professor of Physiology, and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Loma Linda University School of Medicine, passed away Tuesday, January 5, 2016, at the age of 89. He was widely recognized as one of the world’s foremost authorities on developmental biology and physiology, maternal-fetal medicine, and obstetrics/gynecology.

SCOPE | Spring 2016

faculty. Five years later, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) approved his request to establish the Center for Perinatal Biology at LLUSM. The center rose to international prominence as Longo and his colleagues conducted groundbreaking research and published their findings.

Longo maintained a deep faith in God. In a March 2012 interview, he reminisced about the sense of wonder he felt while exploring the intricate systems that sustain human life.

“All of life is so complex with multiple, multiple layers of complexity,” he reflected. “There has to be some kind of celestial design committee.”

Longo’s humility came sharply into focus in February 2013 during the 40th Anniversary Celebration and Symposium of the Center for Perinatal Biology.

After dozens of international luminaries expressed their profound gratitude for his influence in their lives, he deflected the spotlight away from himself.

“That’s what I see it as,” Longo said about the center’s remarkable accomplishments, “just four decades of work—nothing to do with me, really.”

Roger Hadley, MD, LLUSM dean, summarized Longo’s accomplishments and placed him in a very exclusive group of influential leaders.

“Highly respected by his national and international peers, millions of dollars in grant funding, an extraordinary mentor, and an admired humility have made Dr. Longo the most influential basic science researcher—and one of the Top 10 most important individuals—in our university’s 110-year history,” Hadley observed.

“It was unequivocally clear to anyone who knew him that he had a deep passion to make this world a better place.”

Betty Jeanne Longo passed away a month later. The Longos are survived by their children: Celeste de Tessan, Anthony Longo, Elisabeth Longo, and Camilla Mohn; and grandchildren: Giovanni Longo, Nicolai Longo, Alexandria Longo, and Marisa Mohn.

27

LLU ALUMNI: Where are they today?

By Heather Reifsynder

L

ike lights across the globe, Loma Linda University alumni are serving others from every inhabited continent and in 123 countries.

They have been taught to care for people with respect, kindness, and concern for the whole person—body, mind, and spirit. These maps, created

by Ed Santos, geographic information systems instructor in the School

28

of Public Health and interim director of the health geoinformatics laboratory, illustrate how far LLU alumni are widespread, pinpointing their locations and showing their schools with color.

In the maps, each dot equals one person.

Although in areas of high alumni concentration the dots overlap, the maps show overall distribution.

Loma Linda University Health

PHILANTHROPY

Jane Woolley Big Hearts for Little Hearts Desert Guild co-founder

By James Ponder

N

ovember 1954 was an important month for the lady who would later co-found the Big Hearts for Little Hearts Desert Guild to raise money and awareness for Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital patients from the Coachella Valley.

To find out why, let Jane Woolley, MD, tell the story with her characteristic smile and a twinkle in her eye.

That doesn’t mean things have always been easy for Jane, as she prefers to be called. Back in the early 1950s, women who wanted to become physicians faced daunting obstacles. Despite the fact that a women’s group provided her a full scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, she encountered strong resistance from males who felt women should not be allowed to be doctors. She eventually prevailed, however, becoming one of only three women admitted into a class of 100.

After graduation, Jane took a rotating internship at Los Angeles County General Hospital. For some reason, she kept noticing one of the residents, a man named Morton Woolley, MD. Mort, as he told her to call him, was friendly and professional. Jane thought he was also quite handsome. One of her chiefs told her Mort had good judgment, so she traded a psychiatry service for one of Mort’s surgical services, and a romance began.

But on that momentous November day in 1954, Mort stopped at the resident’s mailboxes to collect his paycheck and asked Jane a simple question: “Would you like to help me spend this?”

“I would love to!” she replied. The couple cashed the check and soon found lots of things to do together. They married the following July.

Sometime after their marriage, Mort—who graduated as president of the medical school class of 1951 from the College of Medical Evangelists, as Loma Linda University was then known— mentioned to one of his mentors at Los Angeles County General Hospital that the institution’s pediatric coverage was “a SCOPE | Spring 2016

Morton Woolley, MD, and Jane Woolley, MD, known to their friends as Mort and Jane, have been friends of Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital for many years.

Mort encouraged Loma Linda physicians and administrators to open the facility, and Jane co-founded—with her friend Shirley Pettis—the Big Hearts for Little Hearts Desert Guild to raise money and awareness.

little thin.” To rectify the situation, he volunteered to take a residency in pediatric surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital.

The offer was accepted.

While Mort studied for three years under Richard Gross, MD, then widely regarded as the best world’s best pediatric surgeon, Jane completed an anesthesiology residency at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital.

When their programs ended, the couple returned to Southern California and bought a house in Glendale.

Jane went to work as an anesthesiologist at Verdugo Hills Hospital in Glendale while Mort divided his time between Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles (CHLA) and White Memorial Hospital. When asked to run the residency program in pediatric surgery at CHLA, he gradually transitioned there full time, eventually being appointed surgeon-in-chief in 1972.

Throughout his career, Mort kept an eye on what was happening in Loma Linda. He mentored many LLU School

of Medicine residents in pediatric surgery and spearheaded the creation of the first endowed chair at the school in honor of former anatomy professor Samuel Crooks. He also encouraged the organization to establish Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital.

Mort retired in 1992 and Jane followed two years later. They planned to move to the Palm Springs area right away, but the 1994 Northridge earthquake wreaked havoc on the chimney of their home. A year later, repairs duly made, they finally sold the house and moved to Rancho Mirage.

“Shirley Pettis and I used to drive to church together,” Jane remembers.

“In 2002, the director of the Children’s Hospital Foundation encouraged Shirley to start a desert guild. Shirley persisted in recruiting me. We had a membership tea at Morningside. I invited Jeanne Mace, Mardell Brandt, Dale Rotner, Terry Siegel, and Joyce Engle. Shirley invited Mary Ann Xavier. Each of these remarkable ladies served as president of the desert guild. We had our first event with a guest speaker who was a survivor of Auschwitz, at the Annenberg Center at Eisenhower Medical Center.”

Despite the fact that the guild has raised more than $1.7 million so far, Jane prefers working behind the scenes.

She is happy to claim, with Shirley Pettis, the title of co-founder.

In 2014, the Big Hearts for Little Hearts Desert Guild established the Woolley-Pettis Endowed Chair, named in honor of the guild founders. This first endowed chair at Children’s Hospital will be used for teaching and research.

In addition to working with the desert guild, Jane has many hobbies. But she is very proud of Mort. “He may be 91 years old but he still plays golf at least three times a week,” she says, gesturing to the immaculate greens behind their sumptuous desert home.

A moment later, she affixes a postscript to her answer to Mort’s initial question—the one about helping him spend that paycheck. “I’ve been doing it ever since,” she grins.

29

PHILANTHROPY

Arthur Graham Maxwell Scholarship established at LLU School of Religion

By James Ponder

E

stablished in April 2015 with an initial donation of $200,000, the Arthur Graham Maxwell Scholarship for Excellence in the Study of Religion perpetuates the late professor’s legacy of educating health professionals in theology.

“Since Dr. Maxwell had a passion for teaching Bible and theology to medical and dental students, the annual scholarship will encourage them to combine their training with studies in Bible and theology through the MA in religion and society program,” notes Jon Paulien, PhD, dean of the School of Religion.

Born July 18, 1921, in Watford, England, Maxwell taught at Pacific Union College from 1944 to 1961. He then taught at Loma Linda University for the

30

next 27 years, serving as director of the division of religion for 15 of those years.

In 1988, he retired as emeritus professor of New Testament, and passed away November 28, 2010, at the age of 89.

Maxwell is best known for his picture of God. “God is just as loving and trustworthy as His Son,” he wrote, “just as willing to forgive and heal. Though infinite in majesty and power, our Creator is an equally gracious Person who values nothing higher than the freedom, dignity, and individuality of His intelligent creatures.”

The late A. Graham Maxwell, right, distinguished Adventist theologian and professor emeritus of New Testament, has been honored through a scholarship established in his name at Loma Linda University School of Religion. He was noted for his teaching, preaching, and writing on the character of God.

Loma Linda University Health

Annual gala raises more than $1.3 million for Children’s Hospital

By James Ponder and Larry Kidder

T

hanks to the generosity of Inland Empire donors and the enthusiastic support of 100 volunteers, most of whom are members of the advancement team, the 23rd annual Foundation Gala raised a grand total of $1,312,165, netting $1,016,055 to benefit patients at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital.

The event, titled “Illuminate: The Path to Vision 2020,” took place Thursday, February 11, at the Riverside Convention Center.

According to Jillian Payne, executive director of Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital Foundation, this year brought a significant increase in the

The Silhouettes, a group made famous by success on NBCs America’s Got Talent, performed during the program, then helped celebrate the amount raised that evening.

number of guests and attendees.

“Our event has grown from 800 guests to 1,000 in the past two years,” Payne observed.

In reflecting on the event, Payne spoke of the importance of volunteer involvement in planning and executing the Gala,

which she called “a very financially successful event.”

“It is our honor,” she concluded, “to be able to create an event that shares our passion with the community and, in turn, provide them with an amazing night out.”

Heart patient Nia Imani brings holiday cheer to Children’s Hospital kids

By James Ponder and Larry Kidder

N

ia Imani remembers what it was like to be in the hospital. At just 10 years old, she has already undergone a number of surgeries herself—for congenital heart disease as an infant, and more recently for lumbar surgery—and she knows all too well what other hospitalized kids are experiencing.

That’s why she delivered toys to kids in Children’s Hospital on Wednesday, December 23—just two days before Christmas.

The toy drive was organized by the Nia Imani Heart Association (NIHA), a special organization named for Nia, and designed to help other kids and their families find health and social service resources to help make their lives better. The organization has also sponsored a toy drive each year since 2014.

Nia was born with four heart SCOPE | Spring 2016

defects—tricuspid atresia, hyperplastic right ventricle, transposition of the great arteries, and Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, according to her mother, Mia McNulty, MPA, and NIHA founder.

Her first surgical repair took place when she was two weeks old, performed by pediatric cardiothoracic surgeons Leonard Bailey, MD, and Anees Razzouk, MD, at Loma Linda University Health’s International Heart Institute. A second surgery took place when she was 6 months old, and a third was performed when she was 3.

Her most recent surgery last year involved spinal fusion.

The gifts brought smiles and joy to patients at the hospital over the holidays.

But Nia’s greatest gifts, perhaps, are understanding and hope.

Nia Imani enjoys a swing after school. Her life of courage inspires other kids.

31

PHILANTHROPY

Philanthropists recognized for support of Loma Linda University Health and other causes

By Larry Becker

T

he Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Inland Empire Chapter honored three supporting partners of Loma Linda University Health during its annual National Philanthropy Day recognition event, held November 17, 2015, in Riverside, California.

Tom and Vi Zapara, the Inland Women Fighting Cancer Committee, and the San Manual Band of Mission Indians were recognized for their philanthropic support of Loma Linda University Health and other causes.

According to AFP, honorees are chosen to highlight how they are helping to change the world.

Tom and VI Zapara were named AFP Inland Empire Chapter’s Philanthropists of the Year for 2015.

The Zaparas have been active supporters of Seventh-day Adventist education for 35 years.

In 1980, they began the Business Executives Challenge to Alumni, a national program that encouraged Adventist colleges and universities to more actively solicit support from their respective alumni.

The Zaparas also established the Zapara Award for Teaching Excellence, recognizing the significant contributions of high school and college teachers in the Adventist educational system.

More recently the Zaparas have helped fund educational and health care facilities, including the Rehabilitation Center at Loma Linda University Health.

The Zaparas provided funding for a Loma Linda University program called EXSEED. The university brings elementary and secondary STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) teachers to the Loma Linda campus, where they are updated on the latest achievements in these areas, and introduced to better ways of capturing students’ interest and attention in these subjects.

Scores of teachers have participated during the program’s five years.

“It makes no sense for teachers to feel 32

Richard Hart, MD, DrPH, second from left, was on hand to thank some of the generous individuals honored at the Association of Fundraising Professionals Inland Empire Chapter’s National Philanthropy Day event. With Hart are, from left, daughter Cindy Zapara Reiner, Vi Zapara, Tom Zapara, and daughter Shelley Zapara Fox.

isolated when there is so much highlevel science and math talent around to help them,” says Tom Zapara.

The Inland Women Fighting Cancer Committee received the Volunteer Group of the Year Award.

The committee began in 2007, when Annie Sellas, Cathy Stockton, and Nancy Varner decided to share a message of hope and care to other women who were fighting cancer.

Their efforts led to a partnership with Stater Bros. Charities and the launch of the first Believe Walk in October 2008, in Redlands, California.

Now held annually the first Sunday in October in Redlands, the Believe Walk has raised more than $2.5 million to fight cancer.

The funds are distributed to a variety of Inland Empire nonprofit organizations, including Loma Linda University Cancer Center and Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital oncology department.

The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians was recognized as Community Champions for 2015 and has partnered with Loma Linda University Health, San Bernardino City Unified School District, the City of San Bernardino, and

the Social Action Community (SAC) Health System to create new educational opportunities for high school students and young adults in the region.

The San Manuel Gateway College will offer 6-to-12-month certificate programs that will open up entry-level employment opportunities.

The college will be located on the new Loma Linda University Health– San Bernardino site that will also house an expanded SAC Health System clinic.

By combining the clinic and college into one facility, students will have the unique opportunity to be trained and mentored by Loma Linda University Health faculty, medical residents, and students from Loma Linda’s eight professional schools.

“This unprecedented and visionary gift will bring world-class education and health care to the Inland Empire, while also promoting financial, social, and employment opportunities for people in our community,” says Richard Hart, MD, DrPH, president of Loma Linda University Health. “We are extremely grateful to the leaders and people of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians for their extraordinary generosity.”

Loma Linda University Health

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION

U.S. POSTAGE

Office of Public Relations 11157 Anderson Street Loma Linda, CA 92354

Upcoming events

May 22 Groundbreaking for adult and children’s towers Loma Linda University Medical Center

May 28 Baccalaureate Services:

School of Medicine, School of Pharmacy, and School of Dentistry

May 29 Commencements:

School of Medicine, School of Pharmacy, and School of Dentistry

June 11 Baccalaureate Services:

School of Allied Health Professions, School of Behavioral Health, School of Nursing, School of Public Health, and School of Religion

June 12 Commencements:

School of Allied Health Professions, School of Behavioral Health, School of Nursing, School of Public Health, and School of Religion June 20–24 EXSEED Conference

June 22 Ribbon-cutting for Loma Linda University Health–San Bernardino

For the full campus calendar, visit: http://quarry.llu.edu/MasterCalendar/MasterCalendar.aspx

MANY STRENGTHS. ONE MISSION. A Seventh-day Adventist Organization

PAID San Bernardino, CA Permit No. 1272